I don’t come from a background in science – my Bachelor’s is in History and I’ve spent the past five years working in marketing – so I often get asked how I’m coping with doing a science degree like Public Health.

And the answer is: not too badly, so far. At least judging from my results for term 1, especially statistics and epidemiology.

Part of this is definitely down to pure elbow grease: extra hours rewatching lectures, consulting YouTube tutorials and making sure I got all the homework done. But thankfully, it’s also because postgrad education is more about the application of technical knowledge to the real world than whether you can memorise formulas.

I can’t believe we’re now already 5 weeks into term (6 if you count exam week)! So far I can say that I’m somewhat enjoying my degree (the lecture part at least, not so much for the exam/ assignment part) but there are times when I feel like I am so done with Geology and *flips table, throws papers/ notes everywhere*

When those times come, I know that I need a short break from all the rocks/ reports/ looking through polarising microscopes/ lectures and just take a breather. So what else can you do when you’re not going in and out of lectures?

Going for a swim at the St Mary’s pool after a long day of classes has become something of a ritual for me now that I’m almost two thirds through my course. There’s nothing more therapeutic, and it’s also a bit surreal remembering that Alexander Fleming used to do laps here, as have generations of students since it first opened 80 years ago.

That’s why I don’t want to see it closing down this July. To save it, I’ll be swimming 22 miles – the width of the English Channel – at St Mary’s over the next 12 weeks as part of the Diabetes UK Swim22 Challenge.

Hi everyone. So, my mentor had us do this time-management activity where we have to take note of what I get up to every 15/ 30 minutes and I thought it’ll be interesting to share the findings? results? with you guys. I actually did the original assignment last week over two days (Thursday and Friday), but I wanted to share my schedule on Monday instead as a message that, ‘Hey, Monday’s not too bad after all even if it’s the start of another week of lectures…’ and also because Friday’s baking day (because what better way to celebrate the end of schooldays other than a fresh-out-of-the-oven baked goods).

27th January was the date, Imperial College Union was the stage – for one of the biggest events of the year; the 2018 Imperial vs UCL eSports Varsity. I decided to pop along and see what was going down. Admittedly, I know little/nothing about eSports but luckily there were enough avid fans that explained the rules and procedures that I gained some understanding!

The varsity event was hosted by the Imperial eSports society (https://www.imperialcollegeunion.org/activities/a-to-z/esports), a relatively young society. However, their membership is growing, and so are the size and quality of their events – this was their second ever varsity event and it was an impressively professional set up.

…makes Jack a dull boy, or so they say.
What about exams though? Where do exams fit into that adage?
My first week this term was taken up with exams – my first for a few decades, so I was feeling a little rusty. However, I’m running far too far ahead of myself: before we get to the exams, who remembers revision?

I embarked upon my revision programme eagerly enough, drawing up a schedule for revising ten topics, spread over ten days or so, with slots for trial questions from past-papers, other periods dedicated to recap and summarising, and even timed mock-exams to complete entire past-papers under pseudo-exam conditions.

This is about how I managed my time during first term (I didn’t).

So this is where I confess I may have missed about half – or more- of my lectures last term. So where did it all go wrong? I’ll be fine, I thought- I’ll just catch up over Christmas.And so on top of procrastinating plenty all term (it’s in my nature, sadly)- I dived head first into the wealth of extracurricular Imperial has to offer. From drama rehearsals, to paediatrics play team, giving campus tours, and attending German Horizons classes- I was all over the place.

Now this was the same mentality that I had all throughout secondary school- I would save up all the content to learn on my own over the holidays.

Hola peeps. I know it’s been forever since I last wrote something (yeah, I know, I totally failed my resolution) and sorry about that, but I’m currently in one of my lazy moods:3 (and if that’s not a good enough excuse; which by the way, it should be; I have been pretty ~sorta~ busy with exams, a deadline coming up next week, a weekend trip to Budapest and beginning my journey into exploring the vast field of Geology and Earth History). I’ll blog more about Geology later on, but for now I’m just gonna tell you about clubs and societies at Imperial.

London, known to many as “The Big Smoke” has historically, and still today, been synonymous with air pollution, traffic jams and intense urban hustle and bustle. BUT, there is another side to the city – it’s “greener” side. London, despite the nicknames and assumptions, actually boasts 8 Royal Parks and countless smaller green spaces. So, if you need an escape from city life – the parks are a perfect saviour!

When I first found out I’d be based at the St Mary’s campus instead of the main Imperial College stamping ground of South Kensington, I was apprehensive.

“I’m going to miss out on college life.” was my first thought.

“Does this mean they only serve hospital food?” was the other.

After a term here, I can happily say that I have not had any cause for FOMO, nor had to eat from any hospital canteens. I am also a bit better qualified to give you an insider’s look at life at St Mary’s. If you’re going to be starting a term here soon, this is your jam.